DOD: Squeeze TRICARE, slash grocery, cap BAH

2:18 AM,
Feb. 28, 2014

Tom Philpott

Written by

Tom Philpott
Military Columnist

One of the two biggest changes to military compensation proposed in the president's 2015 defense budget request would roll back, after 20 years, an offering of multiple health insurance options to millions of beneficiaries.

The other would end deep discounts on groceries, a benefit that is decades old and long had been viewed as critical to a volunteer force.

But military leaders, worried about post-war budget cuts, see gaps in readiness, risks to key weapons programs and deeper force cuts if Congress continues to block these types of compensation reforms. So they propose bold moves sure ...